Online Video – Download, Plugins, and Client Software

Om Malik has an exclusive story about Joost moving away from downloadable client software to downloadable plugin for their proprietary video sharing platform.

From Om Malik at GigaOm.com
In what is likely to be a major shift in the company’s strategy, peer-to-peer startup Joost is going to stop making its desktop client. The decision to suspend the client is likely to be announced soon, I am told. The company is going to a browser-only strategy, in which much of its content is going to be available through a browser-based player.

Joost, I am told, will release a small plugin that would embed itself in the browser and allow you to grab files using the P2P technologies. The web client is likely to have better quality than average video sites.

Update: Video and sreenshots of the new Joost service.

P2P Business Model Now Viable with Comcast Move – It has to be

Comcast putting a limit on usage 250GB just opened the door on the P2P business model. GigaOm (Om) who is an authority on this subject weights in. Om nails it by saying that in the short term it might not look good but it certainly raises question about what the future might look like. I agree with Om on this. Caps are bad and possibly foreclose the future innovation. Wait it’s a free market. The answer is P2P.

P2P is not hip today but this move by Comcast opens the door for the p2p business model. Why? The innovation in acceleration and performance has to come from new innovation in the transport. Comcast can’t deny p2p after this move. They have to let it “play” (pun intended). P2P is the only way the guys like Comcast can increase user experience while offering faster performance for both Live and On-Demand programming.

It’s also a red herring to allow Comcast (in the short term) to own HD quality programming. Here Comcast doesn’t care about the net and wants the HD side of it (see NBC playbook from the Olypics – HD trumps everything).

HD is the end game and the question is will Comcast keep the broadcast franchise or will the net technologies get there fast?

Om Malik’s Next Blog on Open Source OStatic

Congrats to Om Malik for expanding into another microcontent vertical – open source.  I really like Om and his team of investors at Giga OmniMedia not only are they professional but really hard working.  Om continues to drive the blogging business with another veritical while recovering from a heart attack.  Great to see.  You’ve got my support.

I support Om and his team but what people these days tend to overlook is how hard it is to start these businesses.  Wishing you the best Om.